NEW DISCLOSURES WikiLeaks – NSA bugs listened to Merkel in her "confession" about the Greek debt.
The wiretapping of Angela Merkel and German officials who have a great interest in Greece by the US National Security Agency is revealed by Wikileaks (www.wikileaks.org) in exclusive collaboration with Ethnos for Greece.
SecretWikiLeaks documents reveal that the German Chancellor did not believe for years that a bold haircut on Greek debt would be a real solution to the "Greek problem."
According to WikiLeaks documents, US National Security Agency (NSA) bugs recorded a "confession" by Merkel to her personal assistant in October 2011, a few days before the summit's decision to cut bonds further to 50%, up from 21% agreed upon a few months earlier.
The classified NSA document notes that she seemed to feel “at a loss” about which option – another haircut or immediate assistance – would be better to deal with the situation and that “her fear was that Athens would be unable to overcome the problem even with an additional “haircut”, since it would not be able to manage its remaining debt”. It also states that she was considering pressuring the US and Britain to impose a special tax on financial transactions to help banks’ liquidity.
Furthermore, it is revealed that the only one within the German cabinet who was in favor of the additional haircut was Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, "despite Merkel's efforts to 'rein him in'.".
On the other hand, France and European Commission President Manuel Barroso, as stated in the classified document, have advocated a softer approach. “European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet has been consistently opposed, and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde has been described as ‘undecided on the issue,’” the NSA agents note.
Another secret report to which Ethnos had access proves the surveillance of high-ranking German officials by British intelligence services. It also becomes clear that the data was transmitted to the NSA, which drafted the text of the report. This is the first document that actually proves that the British spied on their European partners at a high level on behalf of the NSA.
This specific secret WikiLeaks report was based on information intercepted by the German Chancellery's Director General for EU Affairs, Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, who provided an overview on October 14, 2011, of what Berlin plans to ask for and will be ready to support in view of the upcoming summits focusing on the Greek issue.
It is striking that at that time a proposal was being planned for a contribution from the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to rescue Greece.
The WikiLeaks document notes: “Berlin would not accept giving the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) a banking license. It would also not accept the establishment of a joint Special Purpose Vehicle between the EFSF and the European Central Bank, or any other measure that would require legislative changes by member states.
On the other hand, the Germans will support the creation of a special International Monetary Fund program into which the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) will "pour" funds for the purpose of strengthening rescue activities in the eurozone.
Meyer-Landrut also believed that resolving the Greek crisis would require greater private sector involvement than experts had initially estimated, and that the Eurozone should look beyond the technicalities of an agreement and focus instead on the real progress Greece needs to make in terms of legislation and implementation. He also believed that a team should be permanently based in Athens to monitor the situation.
It is noted that more than 70 phone numbers of high-ranking German officials are on the list of monitoring targets of American intelligence services.
Source: ethnos.gr
